Friends! The hardest thing to leave behind.

We'll see if I can get through writing this post without crying.  I'm a big girl and can handle saying goodbye to my friends so much more gracefully than I can seeing the kids say goodbye, the girls in particular.  Something about childhood friendships just gets me.  Maybe it is just my crazy, mad love for my children and the heartbreak it causes me when they are sad.

The girls are at that age when they are able to make deeper friendships.  I knew it was going to be hard to leave the friends again because if we left even for the day they couldn't handle it.  It was almost like starting over when we first got back home to Germany.  All they could think about and talk about was the next time we'll see their friends and how long till we move back to the states...three years from now!

Our bucket list of things to do while in the states consisted of a little clothes shopping for the kids and a lot of eating.  We hit Buffalo Wild Wings ($1.49 unlimited kid's meals) twice, our old fave (4 free kid's meals!) Barley and Hops, Chick-fil-A several times, Panda Express, On the Border, and of course, my true love Sonic Drive-in.

Barley and Hops

Buffalo Wild Wings

We made our rounds visiting all kinds of friends while we were there.

One friend we visited while in the states was moving back right as we were moving to Germany.  We were ships passing in the night.  But this trip we were finally able to meet her little boy.  He's about 3 months older than my Bob.

Ah, and the pool!  The thing I'll miss the most this whole summer!  We have pools here, but they are all cold and most are indoors.  The best thing about our old pool was the people, of course.  That is something you just can't duplicate.

These two were too young to hit it off when we lived there, but became fast buddies during our visit.  One of them would say something silly and the other responded with a deep belly laugh.  Adorable!

Bobby was a huge fan of the zero level entry pool.  He sat and splashed for a long time even when the water was a bit chilly.

We had a wonderful time and, hopefully, didn't overstay our welcome.  We are thankful for the opportunity to spend that time with friends and family!